L.A. arson suspect’s captor patrols for $1 a year

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In this still photo taken from video released on Jan. 2, 2012 by OnScene.tv shows arson suspect Harry Burkhart, 24, a German national, being arrested in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Monday Jan. 2,2012. Burkhart was pulled over by a reserve sheriff's deputy and later booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling. Since the arrest, firefighters have not responded to any other suspicious fires. Police declined to reveal any motive for more than 50 fires that have occurred since Friday in Hollywood, neighboring West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, causing about $3 million in damage. (AP Photo/OnScene.tv) MAGS OUT, TV OUT

A neighbor points to the apartment where arson suspect Harry Burkhart lived with his mother in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan 3, 2012. Authorities didn't know how long Burkhart has been in the United States and said he isn't cooperating with them. Sheriff Lee Baca called him the "most dangerous arsonist in Los Angeles County that I can recall." (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A car owner tries to retrieve possessions from his vehicle as it burns due to arson early Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, in a parking lot in Los Angeles. Eleven more suspected arson fires broke out early Monday in Los Angeles. A person of interest was taken into custody for questioning in connection with the dozens of suspicious car fires that have hit the city since last week. (AP Photo/Mike Meadows)

LOS ANGELES –The reserve sheriff’s deputy who captured a man suspected of being the city’s most dangerous arsonist earns $1 a year as a volunteer and was just certified to patrol alone.

On Tuesday, Shervin Lalezary smiled for media cameras as he modestly credited his colleagues and vigilant citizens for the arrest.

By day, the 30-year-old works as a Beverly Hills real estate attorney. But at 3 a.m. Monday, he was working hours past the official end of his volunteer shift when he pulled over a Dodge van in Hollywood.

He and hundreds of other law enforcement officers had been hunting nonstop for an arsonist described as a white man between 20 and 30 years old with a short ponytail and a receding hairline.

“That was very distinctive information about a person, and as I pulled next to him and shined my spotlight at the car, I saw a male, white, receding hairline and short ponytail and that was … a big key,” said Lalezary at a news conference Tuesday.

The department had received countless suspicious-person calls that night, and, like many in law enforcement, Lalezary said he was inspired to work long after his shift ended to try and catch the suspect.

“Having gone to the different fire calls the nights before and seeing residents flee from their homes and basically run for their lives, the second I realized this may be the individual, I just felt a big sense of relief,” Lalezary said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said Lalezary quickly notified the entire network of officers searching for the arsonist. “Immediately he had backup … and two (Los Angeles police) officers were right behind him,” Whitmore said.

The driver, Harry Burkhart, was arrested on suspicion of setting more than 50 fires since last week, burning cars in apartment buildings in Hollywood and nearby areas.

Lalezary helped make the collar on what was his third solo patrol shift. As a volunteer, he earns $1 a year.

“I can tell you this is a lot more exciting than my day job,” Lalezary said after the arrest.

He declined to speak further to The Associated Press by phone or at the news conference Tuesday, referring questions to the Sheriff’s Department.

“He believes in the community service aspects of the reserve deputy,” Whitmore said. “This is part of the job for him, and he doesn’t want to talk about himself because he believes he’s part and parcel of a larger effort.”

Lalezary was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved to the U.S. with his family about 25 years ago.

He has a law degree from the University of Southern California and was admitted to the California bar in 2008.

He became interested in law enforcement in college, said his 35-year-old brother, Dr. Arash Lalezary.

“He was fascinated by it,” Arash Lalezary said. “I’ve always been worried about him. … Every time he goes out I say, ‘Be careful, be careful.'”

Lalezary became a reserve deputy in 2007 and after training was certified as a Level 3 reservist, allowing him to perform traffic duties and work with sworn deputies, Whitmore said.

Several weeks of additional training made him a Level 2 reservist who could ride along with a deputy on patrol. In December, he became a Level 1 and was permitted to patrol alone.

Equipped with a department-issued gun and patrol car, Lalezary is attached to the West Hollywood sheriff’s station and works at least 20 hours a month, Whitmore said.

Another brother, Shawn, also is a reserve deputy.

Despite the acclaim, Lalezary has no plans to take further training and become a full-time deputy, Whitmore said.

Otto Warmbier was arrested in January 2016 at the end of a brief tourist visit to North Korea. He had been medically evacuated and was being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center when he died at age 22.